Innocent Ejima Egbunike, a former Nigerian sprinter, was born on November 30, 1961. He attended Azusa Pacific University, where he still holds the school record in the 400 meters and the automatically timed NAIA meet record in the 200 meters.
Egbunike achieved significant milestones during his career. At the 1983 Summer Universiade, he won the 200 meters with a personal best of 20.42 seconds. At the regional level, he claimed gold in the 200 meters at the 1987 All-Africa Games and won three gold medals at the African Championships. He also earned an Olympic bronze medal in the 4×400 meters relay at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, where he finished sixth in the individual 400 meters final. Four years later, at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, he placed fifth in the 400 meters. Additionally, he secured a silver medal in the 400 meters at the 1987 World Championships.
After retiring from competition, Egbunike transitioned into coaching. He served as the coach for Nigeria’s track and field team at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics and was the head coach at the 2008 Summer Olympics. He also coached notable athletes, including Angelo Taylor, the gold medalist in the 400 meters hurdles at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and Chris Brown, who finished fourth in the 400 meters at the same event.
